When the day finally arrived for our daughter to be released from the hospital, I was very ready! I had spent the last few days in a frantic rush to pack up all of our belongings from the one room we had been living in for the past 3 1/2 months. You'd be amazed how much stuff you can end up with in that small of a space. We had already carted some of our stuff home and I had all the rest packed up for when my husband finished work for the day. It was a momentous occasion, to be sure, but that didn't mean he got the day off or even got out early-- he had recently changed jobs and was still too new there to really request any "favors". So I waited, along with my 14-month old son.As soon as he got "home", he loaded up the rest of our gear in the car, we fed our son a quick meal, said tearful goodbyes to the Ronald McDonald House staff, and headed over to the hospital.
Considering all the hoops we had jumped through to get to this day, it was surprisingly easy to pick up our daughter. The nurses had her gear all packed in bags along with important paperwork including prescriptions for vitamins and her special formula. She was hooked up to her portable oxygen tank and monitor, and we settled her into her infant seat. I went through all these motions with the nurses while my husband waited in the waiting area with our son- being so young, he was not allowed back into the NICU area.
Once everything was hooked up and I had handles and straps hanging all over our body, we were set to go. I walked our little girl out to the waiting room...
I can't even express to you how amazing and, well, odd it felt to carry my little girl out like that. While she had tubes and wires all over her little body still, it just seemed to NORMAL to be able to walk around with her in an infant seat. And, in many ways, it was like we were leaving the hospital with any typical newborn-- we were a few days shy of her due date, she weighed a whopping 6 1/2 lb, and she was now our total responsibility. Of course, we all know just how much had to be done to get to this point. Still...
I'm not sure A. really noticed that I was carrying this tiny baby girl. He was in my husband's arms (he couldn't walk yet at this point!) and it had been a long day for him too. A nurse accompanied us to the car, helped make sure all the equipment was functioning just as it should, and wished us well.
And then there were four. Four of us. Mama, Daddy, brother, and sister.
We all got into the car. My husband backed out and we bid a grateful farewell to what had been my daughter's home for so very long...
I glanced in the backseat and saw my forward-facing son gazing at my rear-facing daughter and my eyes filled with tears. I had spent almost four months torn between these two precious children. I could finally be Mama to them both simultaneously.
I was more than ready for this next chapter in my life...
Oh, this brought back memories. I still remember the first time my older three even got to see their baby sister through a window...she was 5 weeks old, and all they had seen to that point was a picture!
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed reading your story; I can relate to so much of it. Although our preemie wasn't a micro-preemie (she was born at 30 weeks), she had numerous complications (including a grade IV IVH) and we went through some very scary days. It's been good to reflect this morning on God's faithfulness in bringing us through all of that.